A Price To Pay
by Naruisawesome
Summary: Mai Taniyama knew what would happen if she told him the truth. But, to her, it didn't matter what would become of her as long as she saved the man she came to love with all her heart. The same man who was assigned to originally die under her orders. The man named Oliver Davis. Inspired by Snavej's A Hint of a Threat.
1. Chapter 1

**So...yeah...here's the very first angst thing I've written... I told _Snavej_ about the idea that popped into my head, and after getting a lot of "DOOOO ITTTT" I decided to challenge myself and get out of my fluffy and humorous comfort zone lol. Let me know how I did on this, alright?**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt.**

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She needed to tell him. She _had_ to tell him...before it was too late. If she waited any longer, they would kill him. She knew they would, even if she didn't give the okay to do so. It had been the mission all along to exterminate him. The man named Oliver Davis. The man who she was suppose to get close to, to learn all of his secrets before giving the others the consent to kill him. The man who she wasn't suppose to get attached to, but she unfortunately did anyway. The first man who she came to love.

She made her decision and knew the consequences of it. But if it meant keeping him alive...she would do it.

"You need to leave Japan, Naru."

Her voice was quiet, almost panicked, as she spoke to the man in front of her. Every few seconds she looked behind her and checked her surroundings. She had already searched the area for any other living soul around them before approaching him about this, but it would do no good to be careless. Carelessness could cost _both_ of their lives.

Arms crossed over his chest, the raven-haired man stared at his assistant guardedly. Normally he would chide her with a little bit of teasing when she would try to order him around so freely, the word 'idiot' would be at the tip of his tongue, but something was different about her this time. She didn't say it loud and confident as she usually did; she said it quietly and tried her best to keep her voice even, as if she was in fear. Her breaths were irregular as well with her hands clenched at her sides. And her cinnamon brown orbs stared right into his sapphire blue ones as if begging, _pleading_ , him not to ask any questions and do as she said.

But he couldn't do that. He couldn't not ask any questions when Mai looked so frightened. He needed answers. Why would she even have said that to began with?

"Why should I do that?" He asked plainly. Mai's eyelids half-closed for a few moments as she continued to stare at him, almost in defeat. No, she had to stay strong, she wouldn't cry about this. She wasn't allowed to be emotionally attached to anyone on her missions, that was part of her brutal training years ago, but this man in front of her... He had began to break down the steel-like walls she had surrounded around her when they first met.

"You just need to leave. Please, trust me. Get Lin, pack up, and go back to England. _Please_." She pleaded. If she had spoken any lower, Naru would have had to strain his ears to hear her. He narrowed his eyes at one particular word that came from her lips.

"England?" Naru demanded, his eyes hardening. The brunette cringed slightly at her slip-up. She desperately had been hoping she wouldn't have to tell him the truth about everything, but what a ludicrous wish that was. Of course Naru wouldn't listen to her, especially after demanding him to leave here. "How do you know that?"

Mai opened her mouth before quickly closing it back. Her gaze darted down, unsurely. How was she suppose to say this?

"Be...because..." She swallowed visibly. "There are people who are wanting to kill you." She looked up and locked eyes with him. "So, please! Leave!"

Naru's lips pressed into a thin line. "If this is your attempt at trying to be funny, it's not working." Naru asked. The brunette took a deep breath. She had to tell him the absolute truth. He would undoubtedly hate her afterwards, resenting having ever hired her, but he needed to know so he would be safe. It didn't matter what would become of her.

"I'm not lying! You have to know that! Naru... Please just listen to what I have to say, alright? It won't be easy..."

Silently, and lips still pressed together skeptically, the young man nodded.

"I...I work for an organization. My assignment was to get close to you and learn everything there was about you before giving my higher ups the consent to...execute you." Mai foolishly glanced up at Naru. She felt sick to her stomach at seeing the shocked look at his face, his façade completely unguarded from the information.

"Why are you telling me this then? Why should I even believe you?" He pressed harshly, and his expression immediately hardened a second later and his eyes became icy cold.

"I...I know it's hard to believe, but why would I lie about something like this?" Mai said honestly. Ironic how people tried to make someone believe they _wouldn't_ kill them, but here she was trying to tell him that she worked for a secret organization that wants him dead. "It'd only give you another reason to call me an idiot." An empty laugh escaped her lips.

Naru only studied her face. She had always been an open book, and right now, she looked earnest. No signs of lying. But then again, if what she was saying was true, everything he thought he knew about this girl would be false would it not? Everything up until now would have been an act. She had to have been deliberately placing her emotions on her sleeve for everyone to see.

"Don't you see now?" Mai's voice brought him from his reverie. "This is why you need to leave. I-I can't do it this time, Naru. I can't let _you_ die. I need you to be _safe_!" She yelled in a hushed whisper. He could see tears start to form in her eyes. "I can't let them kill you like they killed him!"

"...Who?" Naru's eyes narrowed into slits. He truly did not know the answer, but something of despair formed in his stomach. He did not _want_ to know the answer, but something told him he needed to know. The distressed girl shakily let out a breath.

"Eugene."

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 **This was meant to be a one-shot, but this just seemed like a good place to stop...soooo, the next chapter will be the final! I'll update it soon, promise! Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ehe, so here it is... I'm sorry in advance... I always hate it when people say this, but never thought I'd be the one to say it too. ^_^; And I thought I'd have this out sooner, but the last scene gave me some trouble...**

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Mai wanted nothing more than to go to him and try to comfort him in some way. But she knew she could not. She would not even attempt to dare it. She was the reason he was emotionally and mentally pained right now, although he did his best to hide it. He was not someone who took pity from others. He despised her now; he loathed her, she just knew it. The dark look on his face screamed it loud enough.

His reaction made her want to cry even more than she already wanted to. But no, she wouldn't do that.

"You killed my brother?"

"No!" Mai assured quite abruptly. "I had nothing to do with his death, I swear! Just the...the organization I work for killed him..."

"Why?" He questioned harshly. Unexpectantly, he came forward—surprising her—and gripped her arm. His fingernails almost broke her skin. Another shaky breath escaped Mai's lips.

"To lure you here."

Naru's eyes flashed as they stared into his so-called assistant's.

"I want you to explain everything to me. Now." His nails unconsciously dug further into her skin. Despite that, it didn't hurt much to the brunette. She had much worse done to her. Both physically and emotionally. The first time she assisted in killing someone had taken a toll on her, but after doing it for so long it didn't affect her anymore. Well...that is until she met Naru and the others. "Why did these people kill Gene, and why do they want me dead? Why the hell are you working for them?"

Mai moved her arm slightly in discomfort, which made Naru look down and realize what he was doing. He quickly removed his hand away from her as if it was on fire and turned around. Hurting her wasn't going to get the answers he wanted. He was thinking too irrationally right now, his mind was too clouded from everything she had sprung on him. With a frown, Mai gently rubbed her arm before placing a hand over the spot where he had left a mark.

"After my mom died they recruited me." She began slowly, answering his last question first. She might as well start at the beginning so Naru would have a better understanding of everything. However, before she could say another word, he was already interrupting her.

"Recruited?" Naru narrowed his eyes, looking at her from over his shoulder. "Why you of all people?"

The brunette gave a small, careless shrug. "They look for people who have no family left, so if 'something happens' to said people, no one would really notice. Often they'll find young children to approach so they can train them up to obey their every command, thinking they'll always be loyal to them and grateful that they took them in when they had no where else to go. After my mom died, I had no one else so..."

"And you agreed to it?"

Mai looked down shamefully. "I was only ten at the time... I thought if I didn't agree then they would kill me anyways. I was too afraid to die and I didn't have any where else to go, so I did whenever they said. Now, after everything I've been through, I know that it was a horrible choice. Dying would have been the better option."

Naru finally turned around to face her fully. His face was impassive and his eyes guarded. "How many people have you killed?"

"No one!" Mai's eyes widened in panic as her eyes darted to his. Part of her hated the idea of him thinking she was a murderer, although technically she was even if it was indirectly. She couldn't erase anything she was apart of though. Once again, her gaze went to the ground. "At least not directly... My job is to find out whatever information my... _bosses_ want me to uncover. Once I have that information, I tell them and they assign someone else to kill the... _victims_. No matter what it takes, I'm ordered to gather that information." She shivered slightly and wrapped her arms around herself at remembering all of the disgusting things she had to do in order just to _get_ that information.

"What were you suppose to gather on me?" Naru questioned, though her reaction did not go unnoticed by him.

"Your abilities... Your PK, psychometry...all of it."

"Why?"

Mai shook her head. "I don't know. They don't really tell me _why_ they ever want the information, and I've learned not to question it or you suffer the consequences for doing so." Towards the end of her words, her voice became smaller. "Aside from them telling me to get knowledge about everything I can about your abilities, I only know that they killed your brother in high hopes that you would come to Japan."

Naru grounded his teeth together. " _Hopes_? They just killed him on a _whim_?"

"No! Of course not!" Mai shook her head more vehemently this time. "They're smarter than that of course! There was just...a small percentage that you wouldn't come... Please don't ask how they know this because I honestly don't know. I shouldn't even be aware that they killed your brother..."

Frowning deeply from confusion—though he wouldn't admit it—and anger, Naru crossed his arms over his chest. "Why are you telling me this to begin with? Why not just tell them to kill me like all of the others you took part in?"

Mai felt her heart momentarily stop beating and her breath caught in her throat. Out of all the questions she knew he was bound to ask, she had really hoped those two questions wouldn't have been among them. But once again she was proven wrong. She had made her mind up earlier though; she told herself she would tell him everything.

"You know...out of all of my missions...I never became attached to anyone. Not once. They try to train you to become emotionally dead so it wouldn't happen. But after being with you and Lin and everyone else for so long...you guys really have felt like family to me." Mai stated, looking down, and began to fiddle with the hem of her shirt. "It's probably stupid to say that now...now that you know the truth about me, but it's true. The others would never get hurt or killed because of this—as long as they never know who I truly am, my _bosses_ wouldn't care an ounce about them. But I just can't let you die; I'd never forgive myself because...along the way I've...fallen in love with you." Her gaze shifted up to sneak a peek at him. His expression was serene, but his eyes showed how he truly felt. They held pure surprise in them.

However, before another word could be said between the two, Mai's cell phone began to ring. She quickly got it out and looked to see who was calling. Her eyes widened in panic. It was _them_. They couldn't have known where she was already!

Mai swallowed thickly. "I have to go." She darted her eyes to Naru's as she took a step back, clutching her phone to her chest. "Please leave though. They won't hesitate to kill you, and now that they..." She trailed off, biting her lip to keep the tears from falling. This would be the last time she ever saw Naru again. She tried to memorize every detail of him to engrave into her mind. She wanted to remember him as long as she could before...well... "Promise me, okay? Leave today, or just as soon as you can. _Leave_."

Before he ever had a chance to react, she bolted out of his sight.

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As he waited for Lin to finish packing their suitcases in the back of the van, Naru stared out of the window, his chin resting in the palm of his hand. His mind kept flashing back to two days ago when Mai confessed everything to him. He still wasn't sure how to process all of the emotions he felt that engulfed him at once. Anger should be the center of his emotions right now, while everything else would be on the outskirts, but it wasn't. Oddly enough, he didn't feel anger in the slightest. No, he took that back. He was _furious_ at this organization that Mai was apart of, but he wasn't angry at _her_.

After all she saved his life, warned him of what was happening even though she had been part of a plan to kill him. But she chose not to do that, rebelling against this organization. She didn't want to do any of the killings she was apart of—only doing it to survive in fear of dying. Who wouldn't? Everyone says they'd never kill anyone just to save their own skin, but if the situation arose, they would. It was human nature. People feared death and would do anything it took to escape it.

Mai also had nothing to do with Gene's death. Naru knew she wasn't lying; she had already confessed so much, so if she did have something to do with it, she wouldn't have kept it a secret. It wasn't her fault Gene was dead—even if she hadn't been apart of the organization, Gene still would have died. In the long run, it appeared to be his fault Gene was dead, Naru observed. Those people had killed him as a way to get to Oliver Davis. He hated the fact that he had to leave and go back to England. He wanted nothing more to find this organization and rip them to shreds with his PK for everything they had done it him, his brother, and even to Mai; but after rationally thinking it through, he knew he couldn't. Couldn't do that to his parents. He was the only child they had left—it would completely break them if something happened to him as well.

However, once he had told Lin what Mai had said, he knew there wasn't going to be any questions about whether he'd stay in Japan any longer. Lin's duty was to protect him after all, whether it be from humans or spirits.

As Lin opened the door on his side of the van, Naru only tightened the grip he had on three plane tickets, not bothering to spare his guardian a glance.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to bring Mai along?" The Chinese man asked stoically.

"Whether or not she wishes to come with us is up to her. I'm just giving her a choice." Naru replied, his gaze focused on nothing in particular as he continued to stare out of the window. Lin said nothing more but only let out a quiet breath as he started the engine to the van. Then, in complete silence, the two men made their way to the brunette's apartment. Naru had given it a lot of thought, but he decided it would be best for Mai to leave as well. Of course the decision was hundred percent up to her, but he just wanted to let her know there were other options than just staying in Japan and doing things she despised. That she could come with them and live in England. And if the organization ever discovered she leaked information to one of their targets and helped him escaped, what they might do to her was unthinkable. Naru felt the strong need to protect her from that, not to mention he should pay her back for helping him in some way.

He hadn't spoken to her since _that_ day, two days ago, before still... He hoped she made the decision to come with them.

Arriving at Mai's building complex, Naru climbed out of the van with Lin not far behind. Silence still surrounded the two as they entered the elevator and rode it to Mai's correct floor. However, as they neared her door, they noticed it was slightly ajar. Far away, it looked as if it was closed, but to anyone close enough like they were could see it wasn't. Furrowing his brows, Naru glanced at Lin and gave a nod before catiously walking into her apartment. Behind him, Lin entered as well and closed the door.

"Look around. Check her bedroom and bathroom; I'll search the living room and kitchen." Naru ordered quietly, just audible for his guardian to hear. Wordlessly, Lin nodded and disappeared down the short hallway. Naru immediately began searching around the living room with care, seeing with only thing standing out was her homework and a cold cup of tea on the table in front of the TV. He frowned. Everything was orderly and clean, but if he knew anything about Mai, she was anything but. In fact everything seemed _too_ organized. As if someone—

"Naru...!" Lin's strained voice called him. Wasting no time, Naru hurriedly went to find the man. However, arriving at the doorway of Mai's bedroom, he froze in his steps upon witnessing the sight of Lin kneeling down on the floor beside a lifeless and stiff body. The man looked up at him with a mixture of of sorrow and sympathy. Naru's eyes widened in shock, his mind unable to think any of coherent thought. Or any thought, really.

 _Mai._

He just did catch sight of her empty and hollow cinnamon eyes before Lin placed a hand over them, bringing her eyelids down. Naru's breath caught in his throat. Even though Mai's eyes weren't open anymore, the memory still burned in his mind. The cold, hollow feeling and unfocused look. Where was the light? The bright lively light that always shone in her eyes, even when things got rough?

No, no, she couldn't be... She wasn't; it was impossible—

"Judging from her body temperature..." Lin began softly, aware he startled his charge out of his denial. From the look at his face, he knew along the lines of what the young man was feeling. Shock. Denial. Sadness. Emptiness. "I'd say it's been around fifteen hours since she's been—"

" _Don't_." Naru interrupted harshly as his eyes darted to Lin in fury. "Don't say it." His eyes snapped back to Mai's body as his breaths started to become ragged. Lin stood and walked to his side and placed a stern hand on his shoulder once the temperature in small room dropped a few degrees.

"I'm sorry, Naru, but you need to stay in control or else you..."

Instead of hearing what the Chinese man had to say, Naru was suddenly all too aware of the blood that covered Mai's neck and chest, and also the area of the floor that was beneath her. As the shock began to leave him, it was replaced with cold anger, and it allowed him to see more than just Mai's inert body. Like the knife that laid uselessly in her blood covered hand. Or the slash across her neck. From the angle of it, to him it clearly looked as if Mai had done it herself.

 _"They look for people who have no family left, so if 'something happens' to said people, no one would really notice."_

The reason behind her death would seem plausible though. An orphan who was thrown into this horrible world all alone and who lived by herself. Who had no other family members alive to support her in any way. Anyone looking from the outside world would just think it was another teenager who couldn't handle the harsh ways of the world and decided to end it all.

But Mai wouldn't have done that.

 _They_ killed her. This—this organization. They just made it seem as if she had ended her own life. They forced her to slit her throat, as if she was some kind of puppet.

They killed Gene and now her.

She died protecting him. She had known what would have become of her if she told him, but she chose to anyway. All because of him. If only he had come yesterday, then right now Mai wouldn't have been...

Naru clenched his teeth and his hands so tight that it would have been painful. But he didn't feel anything. Only numbness.

He wasn't sure who this organization was made up of, or where they were even. But one thing was for sure: he was going to find them and kill them all.

Nothing else mattered anymore, nothing would stand in his way of finding those people. They took two important people from him, and he was going to avenge the deaths of Eugene Davis and Mai Taniyama.

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 **In case yall were wondering...no, I won't be adding on to this, or making this into a story about Naru finding those people. It was hard enough to write this...ehe. Anyways, please review enough though this was a poorly done attempt at angst, lol.**


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